Three Great Books for Writing

Writing about writing has always been a popular topic with writers. Why wouldn't it be after all? In almost every writer is a desire to have their work recognized and known. One way to do that is to flaunt about how much you know about writing, to show everyone that since you know these techniques your writing must indeed be excellent. There is also the much kinder and more worthy goal of honestly loving the craft, and wanting to help those who are still beginners in it, once they've reached a point of mastery.

Ray Bradbury Zen in the Art of Writing
Ray Bardbury's Zen in the Art of Writing was the first book I read with a serious bent while looking to learn how to write a story well. I'm not sure exactly why it was what I chose but it turned out to be a good choice. It made me think and more than that made me want to think more on what I wished to do. It made me search out other books while providing some good and useful tips for writing. Some of Mr. Bradbury's advice won't really work for everyone well but it did for him and he writes what he knows.

Stephen King's On Writing
Stephen King calls writing a form of psychic communication. Telepathy. Communication of images, ideas and emotions through time and space. When he puts it that way, you feel a little shaken up inside as he describes a simple scene. He then goes on talking about his life and how he writes and has learned to write. How else and what else could he write about? It was the most useful book on writing I've ever picked up and made me feel deeply and think deeply about the craft.

Orson Scott Card's How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy
Orson Scott Card. Author of Ender's game and quite a few other excellent series. I read this book once years and years ago, before I had even really taken up writing as anything more serious than an occasional indulgence. It was inspiring to say the least. The man masterfully weaves together hints, suggestions and tips with stories from his own life and writing all focused towards the genres of Sci-Fi and Fantasy. While most useful if you are writing in either of these genres many of his tips can be applied to writing as a whole.